Total pages in book: 7
Estimated words: 6578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 33(@200wpm)___ 26(@250wpm)___ 22(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 6578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 33(@200wpm)___ 26(@250wpm)___ 22(@300wpm)
“I’ll join you. Let me grab my bag and I’ll meet you outside.”
“Sounds perfect,” he says, finally letting go of my arm and walking back over to the older woman I assume is him mom. My skin still feels hot from his touch. Maybe it’s just me.
I hang my robe back up haphazardly and grab my purse. I am back out front after just a few minutes. Outside on the steps of the church, I move toward him. He turns and smiles at me. Gah…
“Mom, this is… you never told me your name,” he says, frowning. It’s very unlike me to go off with a stranger without exchanging basic information.
“Tina Rivera,” I tell him, extending my hand to his mom first, then him.
“Tina, this is my mother, Annabeth.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Holbrook.”
“Annabeth is fine, dear,” she says linking her arm in mine. We walk down the steps and turn left. She chats to me the entire time and I barely had a second to respond before she moved on.
Outside of their apartment, Sam kisses his mother’s cheek, and she kisses mine.
“You must come to dinner Thursday night. I’ll make whatever you kids want,” she says before punching in a code and going inside.
“She’s fun,” I say.
“She’s off her rocker most of the time, but she’s just mom. You know?”
“I do. Mine is back home in Ohio. I miss her way more than I thought I would. I thought I’d be so busy, I wouldn’t have a chance to miss her, but breaking into the business is hard. I didn’t listen when everyone said I’d never make it. I honestly just expected to waltz into New York and take it by storm. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. You don’t care about that.”
“Nonsense,” he says taking my hand in his as we continue to walk. “I care, Tina.”
“Why would you?”
“I think you know, Tina.”
“You just want to fuck me, like they all do. That’s all men ever want from me,” I say, forcefully pulling my hand out of his.
“Jesus, Tina. I don’t just want to fuck you,” he says making me frown. Why does that piss me off too? I’m a jumbled mess of horniness right now. I can’t think.
“You don’t want to fuck me?” I sound insane, I know I do.
“Don’t get me wrong, I do want to fuck you, but I want so much more than that from you too.”
“You do?” I ask. I stop walking when he does. He turns to face me, walking me backwards to a tree so that we aren’t standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He’s pressed against me so tightly; I can smell his cologne. It’s invading my every sense right now.
“Tell me to fuck off, Tina. Tell me to go away and never come back.”
“No,” I whisper and then his lips are on my mine. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions to flood me. This isn’t my first kiss by any means, but it is the most damaging. I’m starting to want things a girl like me shouldn’t want. I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on while he takes me somewhere I’ve never been before. I groan when he pulls away from me.
“There’s a great coffee house just down the street,” he says taking me hand and all but pulls me down the street.
“I have coffee at my place,” I blurt out.
“Where’s that?”
“Over there,” I say pointing across the street. I have what can only be described as an efficiency apartment. Everything is in one tiny room. There is only a door for the closet the toilet is in.
“Above the Chinese place?”
“Yes,” I say. It’s my turn to drag him across the street. I let us in the little hallway that leads upstairs. I climb the fifteen steps with him close on my heels. I unlock the door and push it open. Flipping the light switch, the dismal place comes into view. I know I shouldn’t be too choosy. It’s only two hundred and fifty dollars a month including electricity. All I have to do is work downstairs in the restaurant. It’s a win-win. Mr. Andy, my boss, takes the two fifty out of my check. The rest of my check isn’t much, really just enough for food but I get quite a lot in tips, especially late at night. They restaurant is closed on Sunday nights, which is good because of church. I know it’s a steal of a deal, but I wish I could afford more.
“It’s cute,” he says, grinning.
“Liar,” I giggle but my giggle is cut short when I am back in his arms.
“Fuck, you are so beautiful. From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew we’d end up like this. I can’t explain it. I never believed in this kind of thing before.”